Monday, June 29, 2009

Microsoft launched Bing at the beginning of the month, after a lengthy development period and months of internal testing. And with the unveiling of Microsoft's new search engine “Bing”, the battle in the field of search engine has heated up. For Microsoft it is not just about reinventing its search engine, but also about delivering a new consumer brand. The search engine is pretty different in respect of user experience.

Bing is all about the users preferences. It is build with a deep understanding of how people really want to use the Web. Bing is an important first step forward in our long-term effort to deliver innovations in search that enable people to find information quickly and use the information they’ve found to accomplish tasks and make smart decisions. Usually search engines do a decent job of helping people navigate the Web and find information, but they are unable to let them use the information they find. And now Bing is here to solve all these problems. Bing yields more relevant and more up-to-date search results.

Bing is not just about reinventing a search engine but it also promise a new brand in the market. Microsoft has acknowledged repeatedly that Live Search suffered from a branding perspective, and Bing is the answer.

Bing is positioned as a filter for the information overload users have to navigate with traditional search engines. Bing aims for an increased relevancy, a new way to organize search results, task simplification and greater insight.

It is a story of déjà vu all over again. Reinventing the search engine is an attempt to make some progress in the search engine wars. The question is whether Bing will actually end up making any difference?

The challengers in the field of battle plays out as follows. Google controls a gigantic chunk of it and is looking dangerously aggressive regarding those parts it does not control. Microsoft controls a very small section of the field, but has hordes of ammunition [cash] and is looking for a way to use it. Yahoo has its own section, but is under siege and appears ripe for the taking. This leaves Microsoft and Google as the two main predators.

The biggest thing about Bing is the new search parameters. Microsoft has actually tried to create a new niche search approach. The Bing search function is tailored to four verticals to enhance the search results. They include the buying decision, finding local businesses, making health decisions and planning trips. Put another way, the engine is designed to emphasize product purchases, health, local businesses and travel, which just happen to be four of the bigger niches on the web.

Google has always relied on the pillar of its search engine. Generally, Google is viewed as the best when it comes to producing quality results. Although the last Microsoft search engine, wasn't terrific, but wsith Bing, it hopes to change that.

Whether users will end up binging over googling will confirm or deny the relevance of Microsoft's efforts in search. Both the tools proves that the user experience for both searchengines is different, in many ways. Fact is Bing is hard on changing everything, and the Search Wars are heating up. Think on this.